VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN GERMANY AND IMMIGRANTS: A MEDIATIZED POLITICAL COMMUNICATION?

Abstract

Violence against women is experienced by all ages and social classes, all races, religions and nationalities. It is estimated that at least one in three women were subjected to some type of inter-personal violence over their life time (UN Security Council Resolution 1820). The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found that in EU one in 10 women experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 15 and, one in 20 has been raped. This article seeks to find out the role of media on portraying the reports of violence against women in Germany which are carried out by men with immigrant background. The tasks include analysing the different violence incidences against women which are reported by media in Germany and also observes the role of policy mechanisms and punishments for such crimes. Research methods employed in this study encompass document analysis of different aspects of violence incidences by observing news reported from July 2016 till February 2017 by two e-newspapers in English.  Also secondary data analysis of different statistics such as crime statistics from Germany, migration reports from Eurostat, violence reports by European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)etc. were used in this paper. The primary interpretation can be made in such a way that there is an alarming increase in violence against women by certain group of men with immigrant background in Germany despite of the fact that German mass media tries to obscure such reports while the international newspaper do not try to hide. The lack of successful integration of refugees can be identified as a big barrier to prevent such incidences and minimal punishment for crimes against women should be evaluated and modified by respective governance bodies for preventing such incidences.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.11.18957